February 24, 2014 4:36pm ESTFebruary 24, 2014 12:35pm ESTEarnhardt Jr. couldn't help but think about his famous dad after he won the 2014 Daytona 500. It was the first time his dad's car, the iconic No. 3, was used in a Cup race since the 2001 tragedy.Dale Earnhardt, Jr.(AP Photo/John Raoux)

The 3, of course, is the number piloted by his father, seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, who died in a crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

Richard Childress, who won six titles with Earnhardt’s father, opted to bring the No. 3 back to Cup racing this year. Childress' grandson Austin Dillon has used the number for years and now runs it in Cup. The 2014 Daytona 500 was the first time the No. 3 was used in a Cup race since the tragedy, and it came at the same place, in the same annual event, that took the life of one of the sport's greatest drivers.

“He appreciates the history of the number,” Earnhardt said about Dillon. “He appreciates not only what it meant as an Earnhardt fan, but what it meant for his family. It means something entirely unique to him separate of my father.

“I appreciate that and I'm happy for him and Richard. They're really enjoying that experience together. That's got to be something special, grandfather and grandson, to be able to do that together.”

For Dillon, it was neat for Earnhardt to win the win the race if he couldn't’t.

“Junior has been so supportive of me bringing back the 3,” Dillon said. “I've gone to him for a lot of advice lately. I can't thank him enough. He's been awesome to me.

“It made this whole transition a lot easier. If we didn't have him on board, it would have definitely been tough to do this.”

Earnhardt won the first Cup race at Daytona International Speedway after his father’s death. He last won at Daytona in the 2004 Daytona 500 — a decade ago.

In winning his second Daytona 500, Earnhardt now has won one more Daytona 500 than his father.

“The car just kept telling me that it was meant to be,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “The car was too good to not win that race.

“I would have been pretty foolish to have such a good car and not win it. It just seemed like it was meant to be.”

Daytona is a special place even though Earnhardt would always have to leave before the Daytona 500 when his father competed so he could be at school the next day. Earnhardt had never been to the Daytona 500 until the first one he raced in 2000.

“This place just has a lot of great history,” Earnhardt said. “It is an amazing racetrack. When you drive into it, you get a special feeling that you don’t get somewhere else. … This place is just a fairy tale to a guy like me that really loves the sport and enjoys the history.

“It all seems like it’s meant to be, whether it’s the highs or the lows that you experience at this place. I just enjoy being here so much.”